Bucket elevator improvements

ABSTRACT

A bucket elevator for use in grape harvesting which has buckets in sequential alignment which are each attached to a bucket elevator chain so that the orientation of each bucket will remain that of the chain to which it is attached. There are disclosures of shapes of buckets to facilitate collection, emptying and carrying materials and to avoid allowing spaces between the buckets which will ensnare with materials being carried.

This invention relates to harvesting machines for fruit including grapesand it relates in particular to bucket elevators used in these machines.

The application in respect of which the invention was developed is theuse of a bucket elevator to lift just harvested grapes to an elevatedposition.

However, it is recognized that other fruits may be able to be harvestedby very similar machines and currently dwarf olives are a possibility.Accordingly, at least to some extent the principals of this inventioncan be applied more broadly to similar applications.

It is conventional for bucket elevators for these harvesters to have achain or chains which support a plurality of buckets aligned in echeloneach of which is supported by a pivot connection with respect to thechain so that each bucket can in turn have its relative position to thechain changed so that as it progresses from a collection position to anelevating position, its orientation however may stay the same despitethe chain following a path giving it a different orientation.

In this way, each bucket keeps its open mouth uppermost for mosteffective storage capacity of both fruit and any juice.

When the buckets are carried to an discharging station, conventionallyexternal means guide each bucket so that its orientation is then changedrelative to the chain so that its open mouth is turned to be lowermostand the contents are emptied thereby.

This is the currently existing system.

I have discovered that this system can be improved.

I have noticed for instance that there can be difficulties with thecurrent system when all of the incidental debris as well as grapes areloaded onto the buckets at the collection station.

This debris can include stalks and limbs of vines and these can projectin all directions and be pushed into all sorts of places.

When a bucket is reorientated from a collection position to an elevatingposition, its position changes relative to the chain and if this actionhappens to ensnare materials such as limbs of vine, then either theorientation is not fully accomplished or when the orientation is forcedto change, and this is not possible because of some ensnaring debris,then buckets can be either distorted or broken.

One of the major problems with one or more of the buckets being brokenis that, if the harvester is to be continued to be used, and at harvesttime this is normally essential, the bucket has to be rapidly replacedand the elevating bucket system cannot simply be used withoutpotentially serious loss of harvested materials. This results in delaysand if the period is critical as far as collecting the material to beharvested at a critical time, then the results can be more seriousbecause of delay in harvesting.

An object of this invention is to propose an arrangement for a harvesterincluding a bucket elevator which at least reduces the abovedifficulties.

In accord with one form of this invention, there is proposed a grapeharvester including a bucket elevator with a bucket elevator chain withbuckets arranged to collect grapes and grape juice at a lowermostcollection station in each of the buckets and elevate these to adischarge station where the buckets are each attached to the chain sothat the orientation of the bucket in each case will remain as that of achain link of the chain adjacent which it is located and affixed andwhere the grapes and juice will be thereby retained within eachrespective bucket by reason of the shape and the orientation of therespective buckets through from the collection station to the dischargestation, wherein said collection station extends across a collectionarea where each bucket is held in a collection position with its mouthuppermost while it passes across said extended collection stationwhereby the grapes and juice will be retained within each respectivebucket by reason of the shape, position and the orientation of therespective buckets through from the collection station to the dischargestation.

This then proposes a quite radical change to the current system.

Rather than having as hitherto, a bucket that is allowed to pivot ormove more or less independently of the orientation of the chain or thelinks to which it is adjacent or even affixed, the concept now is tohave the chain define the orientation.

I will now explain how and why this provides an answer to the problemset out above.

By having each bucket secured so as to follow the orientation of itsassociated link of a chain, means that each adjacent bucket can belocated essentially adjoining one another at least in so far that eachhas an uppermost open face during a collection station period.

Next, by realising that the shape of a holding cavity of a bucket can beeffective to hold product such as harvested grapes and juice both whenits open mouth is uppermost or to one side of the holding cavity, meansthat one is no longer constrained to have to reorientate the bucket withrespect to the chain.

As an example of the changed relationship of the mouth with the holdingcavity of a bucket, in a preferred arrangement then there is providedthat a rear wall of a cavity is rearwardly inclined from an upper edgedefining a rearward most edge of the uppermost mouth all of this whenthe bucket is in the collection position. In preference, a front wall ismore or less parallel to the back wall so that there can be provided aholding capacity in which both front and rear walls are more or lessparallel one with respect to the other and sides walls are likewiseparallel one with respect to the other so that with this arrangement,not only will the bucket collect and hold product when the mouth isuppermost, but when the bucket is then inclined because it must followthe inclination of the chain when in an elevating position, while themouth then orientates to a vertical or toward a vertical orientation,none the less, because of the internal holding shape, the bucket willstill hold substantially the contents originally collected when thebucket was in the collection position.

While at first thought, it might be considered that this would limit thecapacity of the bucket elevator by having to have an inclined cavity, inpractice it is found that there can be in fact an increased capacitybecause firstly the chain can be operated at a faster speed withoutapparently increased fear of breakage of buckets and secondly, the sizeand depth of the holding shape of the buckets is not restricted.

In another form of the invention there is provided a grape harvesterincluding a bucket elevator of a type in which a chain is adapted tosupport a plurality of buckets in echelon alignment, and to convey thebuckets from a collection position to an elevating position, then to andischarging positing and then to the collection position characterisedin that each bucket is secured and supported so that its orientationremains that of the chain link adjacent to which it is located , andsuch that in the collection position each bucket is located to bepositioned relative to adjoining buckets so that at least in asubstantially forward to rearward direction there is an uppermostcontinuous collection area for collection of materials to be elevated,the buckets being further arranged to collect grapes and grape juice ata lowermost collection station in each of the buckets and elevate theseto a discharge station and where the grapes and juice will be therebyretained within each respective bucket by reason of the shape and theorientation of the respective buckets through from the collectionstation to the discharge station wherein said collection station extendsacross a collection area where each bucket is held in a collectionposition with its mouth uppermost whereby the grapes and juice will beretained within each respective bucket by reason of the shape, positionand the orientation of the respective buckets through from thecollection station to the discharge station.

Further, the invention can reside in the method of handling materialswhich comprises the steps of using a bucket elevator arrangement of thetype described and so characterised as well as use of a bucket elevatorchain with attached buckets in the manner described.

While the manner of manufacture and orientation of the chain or chainscan be in accord with many various techniques, in one preferred formthere are provided two sets of chains providing links where each bucketis secured both front and rearwardly by being attached to a pin passingjointly across from one chain to another.

When a reference is made to a bucket, it is intended that this should bea general description and can describe a bucket made from either metalor plastics although in this embodiment it has been found thatmanufacture from plastics materials is preferred.

In preference, the shape of the buckets is such as to provide aneffective carrying or discharging cavity shape for each of threeorientations established by the orientation of links of the chain towhich the bucket is associated or attached namely, a collectionposition, a lifting position and an discharging position.

A fruit harvester including a bucket elevator with a bucket elevatorchain with buckets arranged to collect fruits and juice of the fruits ata lowermost collection station in each of the buckets and elevate theseto a discharge station where the buckets are each attached to the chainso that the orientation of the bucket in each case will remain as thatof a chain link of the chain adjacent which it is located and affixedand where the fruits and juice will be thereby retained within eachrespective bucket by reason of the shape and the orientation of therespective buckets through from the collection station to the dischargestation wherein said collection station extends across a collection areawhere each bucket is held in a collection position with its mouthuppermost while it passes across said extended collection stationwhereby the grapes and juice will be retained within each respectivebucket by reason of the shape, position and the orientation of therespective buckets through from the collection station to the dischargestation.

In a further preferred feature, each bucket is shaped and located sothat when the respective buckets are orientated to an elevatingposition, the buckets do not have closing faces at the open side ofrespective cavities between adjacent buckets.

This then is how the buckets can be used so that they will not have theunfortunate problem of having to jam against debris and be subjecttherefore to potentially damaging forces.

In a further preferred feature, the holding cavity shape in respect ofeach bucket is aligned with respect to uppermost edges defining the opentop so that when the bucket is in a collection position with the opentop uppermost, there is at least some of the holding cavity locatedlower than and more rearward than a rearward most lip of the open top.

The extent to which this holding capacity can therefore be predominantlyrearward can be selected but it is this feature that is of assistance ina preferred form to provide the effect of bucket shape to achieve theanswer to the problem.

In preference, the wall of a bucket extending from a rearward most lipto the bottom of the cavity is substantially planer and a front wall isshaped and is of planer alignment and inclined so as to be more or lessparallel to the back wall.

In this way, when the buckets are supported adjacent one another withthe chain straight, the buckets fit efficiently one adjacent the other.Further, with planar sides, one can obtain a greater capacity whileproviding for an efficient discharging shape.

For a better understanding of this invention it will now be describedwith relation to a preferred embodiment it being emphasised that it isnot intended the invention should be necessarily limited to any singlestatement described so that the purpose of the description is toillustrate and not limit the invention.

Accordingly the embodiment will now be described with the assistance ofdrawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a bucket elevator as would be used in agrape harvester shown having buckets being drawn through a collectionstation, up an elevating station and through to an discharging station,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a part of the bucket elevator chain withbuckets when in a collection position,

FIG. 3 is a side elevation cross section of buckets in a collectionposition but separated from the chain,

FIG. 4 is an exploded view in perspective showing the shape of thebucket, the construction of the chain link adjacent and affixed to thebucket, and details of how the bucket in the embodiment can be affixedto a chain, and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the bucket elevator in its assembledform and preceding from a collection station.

Referring in detail to the drawings, there are a plurality of bucketsshown typically at 1 each of which is of elongate dimensions so that ithas an outermost mouth 2 which has long front lip 3 and a long parallelback lip 4 each of which is parallel one to the other and these areboarded by side walls 5 and 6 so that there is provided a substantiallyrectangular shape boarded by on each side a chain 7 in one case and 8 inthe other.

Each chain is comprised of links shown typically at 9 on one side and 10at the other which are coupled together by pivot connectors shown at 11and 12 typically.

Each bucket 2 is fixed with respect to the chains 7 and 8 so that theorientation of the bucket is locked to be that of the links of the chainwhich are adjacent the bucket.

This is achieved by having common pivot axis for front and backconnectors of a link also having a shaft 13 passing jointly throughrespective ends of links 10, bush 11, aperture 14 of an adjacent linkand aperture 15 in the bucket 1.

The shaft 13 passes fully through from one side to the other so that theexploded view as shown in FIG. 4 has the same arrangement on the lefthand side of the bucket 1 as is shown on the right hand in theillustration.

This then shows how each bucket is secured so as to maintain itsorientation as being that of the linkage of the chain.

In order to maximise the carrying capacity of the respective bucket bothwhen in a collection station as shown at 14, and when in elevatingstation at 15 and adapted to effect effective discharging when in andischarging station at 16 each bucket comprises a forward wall 17, arearward wall 18, a bottom 19 and side walls 20 and 21.

These together define a holding area which has an open top when thebucket is in a collection position as shown for instance in FIG. 3 withthe open top being defined by lips 22 which follow a plane which isapproximately horizontal.

The alignment of the rear wall 18 relative to the uppermost open top 22is such that there is at least some of the holding capacity of thebucket which is lower and more rearward than the rearward most lip shownat 23 at the open top 22.

Further, the wall 18 is planar and has an inclination relative to theopen top 22 of approximately 50° as shown at 24 and the front wall alsobeing planar and having an inclination similar to the rear wall 18 butis chosen to provide a slightly tapering shape between the two so thatthe angle shown at 25 is 45° so that there is in effect a 5° taperbetween the two.

This orientation provides for both a substantial collection capacitywhen the mouth 22 is uppermost that is the bucket is in the collectionposition as shown at 14 and it will maintain most of its holdingcapacity when the mouth is inclined so that the bucket itself is in anelevating position as shown in the elevating station at 15.

In trials conducted so far, with grapes freshly harvested, the holdingcapacity from the collection station position to the elevating positionis a very small change and in any event, if there is any fallout, thematerial that might fall, will still fall into the oncoming buckets sothe material as such is not lost.

The next feature relates to the continuous collection area.

This is now achieved by reason that the uppermost open tops at 22 arealmost adjoining and at least in a forward to rearward direction, thereis provided a rearwardly extending lip 26 which continues to cover anyincidental gap that might otherwise exist.

In this way, it can be shown that in a collection position, each bucketis located to be positioned relative to adjoining buckets so that atleast in a substantially forward to rearward direction there is anuppermost continuous collection area for collection of materials to beelevated.

A further feature is that this can provide that there are no closingfaces or surfaces which by reason of the changing orientation of arespective bucket will be caused to come together when the buckets aretransferred from the collection station to the elevating station oranywhere else.

Such a closing surface which is accessible to the uppermost areas whenin the collection position, means that there is no likelihood of piecesof collected debris being caught between such closing faces andtherefore jamming in these and potentially causing destructive forces.

At the least, there is very much less opportunity for this to occur withthe arrangement described.

Finally, at the discharging station 16, as will be seen especially inFIG. 1, the shape of the container is also now conducive to dischargingboth because of the substantial orientation of the walls when thecontainer is upside down, and there would appear to be littledisadvantage from having the inclined holding capacity.

Nothing in this description requires that the collection position shouldhave the chain so that the upper mouth is necessarily truly horizontalnor in the elevating station, exactly perpendicular to the horizontalwhen the apparatus as a whole is located on level ground.

In other words, the positioning of the chain can also be optimised forthe collection shapes.

It appears now from the experiments conducted so far, that thearrangement described is economic to install and practical inapplication.

It appears to have overcome at least several significant problems thathave hitherto been experienced with harvesters with bucket elevators oftraditional type which is to say there would appear at least in relationto the embodiment less opportunity for the debris to jam between closingsurfaces of the buckets, and in both manufacture and in application,there appears to be some economic advantage because the orientation ofthe buckets is controlled directly by the chain and not having to becontrolled by external means.

A number of changes can be envisaged which would still incorporate theinvention but are not specifically described as the preferredembodiment.

For instance, each bucket is currently moulded from plastics materialbut clearly could be made from other materials.

The chain construction comprises two chains with links extending in eachcase between a front and back lip of each bucket but otherconfigurations may be equally useful and feasible.

The application has been discussed with grapes and grape harvesters butthe invention is intended to be extended harvesters for fruit and thelike and the juices of these.

There is specific advantage in grape harvesters and the embodiment hasbeen specifically designed for this purpose but again it is stressed itis not intended the invention should be limited merely to thisapplication.

What is claimed is:
 1. A bucket elevator, comprising: at least onebucket elevator chain; a plurality of buckets arranged to collect grapesand juice at a lower collection station and elevate the grapes and juiceto a discharge station; wherein said buckets have a mouth configured toreceive the grapes and juice; wherein front and rear portions of saidbuckets are attached to said chains so that the orientation of each ofsaid buckets remains that of the chain to which it is attached, therebyreducing spacing between said buckets, whereby the grapes and juice areretained within said buckets by reason of the shape and orientation ofsaid buckets from the collection station to the discharge station; andwherein said collection station extends across a collection area, andsaid buckets are arranged in a collection position as said bucketstraverse said collection area, said collection position including saidmouth oriented substantially upright, whereby the grapes and juice willbe retained within said buckets by reason of the shape, position andorientation of said buckets from the collection station to the dischargestation.
 2. The elevator according to claim 1, wherein said mouth of atleast one of said buckets has a rear wall, said rear wall having anupper edge and a lower edge, wherein said rear wall inclines from saidlower edge to said upper edge of when said bucket is in a collectionposition.
 3. The elevator according to claim 1, wherein said bucket hasa front wall approximately parallel to a rear wall, and substantiallyparallel side walls, wherein said front, rear, and side walls provide aholding capacity for the grapes and juice.
 4. The elevator according toclaim 1, further comprising a plurality of chains having links; andwherein front and rear portions of said buckets are secured by beingattached to at least one pin extending from one chain to another.
 5. Theelevator according to claim 1, wherein said buckets are shaped toprovide an effective carrying or discharging cavity for the grapes andjuice while said buckets are oriented in at least one of the collectionposition, a lifting position, and a discharging position.
 6. A bucketelevator, comprising: at least one chain adapted to support a pluralityof buckets in echelon alignment, and to convey said buckets from a lowercollecting station, through an elevating station, and to a dischargingstation, and then return said buckets to the collecting station, saidbuckets having a mouth configured for receiving materials to beelevated; wherein front and rear portions of said buckets are secured toand supported by said chains so that the orientation of each said bucketremains that of the chain link with which it is associated, therebyreducing spacing between said buckets; wherein, at the collectingstation, each of said buckets is positioned relative to adjoiningbuckets so that, at least in a substantially forward to rearwarddirection, there is a continuous collection area for collection ofmaterials to be elevated; wherein said buckets are configured to collectmaterials to be elevated at the collecting station and elevate thematerials to the discharging station, said configuration permittingretention of the materials within said buckets by reason of the shapeand orientation of said buckets from the collecting station to thedischarging station; and wherein said collecting station extends acrossa collecting area in which said buckets are arranged in a collectingposition with its mouth uppermost, whereby the materials are retainedwithin said buckets by reason of the shape, position, and orientation ofsaid respective buckets from the collecting station to the dischargingstation.
 7. The elevator according to claim 6, wherein each of saidbuckets comprises a holding cavity having an upper edge; and whereinsaid upper edges of said holding cavities are aligned and define an opentop of each said bucket so that, when a said bucket is in the collectingposition, at least a portion of said holding cavities are located lowerand more rearward than a rearward most portion of said open top.
 8. Theelevator according to claim 6, wherein at least one of said bucketscomprises a cavity having an upper edge, a lower edge, a front wall, anda rear wall, wherein said rear wall inclines from said lower edge tosaid upper edge, and wherein said cavity is substantially planar, andsaid front wall is substantially planar and inclined so as to besubstantially parallel to said rear wall.
 9. A bucket elevator,comprising: at least one bucket elevator chain; buckets arranged tocollect fruits and juice of the fruits at a lower collection station andelevate the fruits and juice to a discharge station; wherein front andrear portions of said buckets are attached to said chains so that theorientation of said buckets remains that of the chain to which it isaffixed, thereby reducing spacing between said buckets, whereby thefruits and juice are retained within said buckets by reason of the shapeand the orientation of the said buckets from the collection station tothe discharge station; and wherein said collection station extendsacross a collection area, and said buckets are arranged in a collectionposition as said buckets traverse each said collection area, saidcollection position including said mouth oriented substantially upright,whereby the fruits and juice will be retained within said buckets byreason of the shape, position and orientation of said buckets from thecollection station to the discharge station.